


A Night Of Possibilities

by reynabeth



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Femslash, Lmao crack ship alert, Mentions of smoking?, PJO, Rachelypso, Tbh this is mostly platonic, Two words: CRACK. SHIP., kinda fluff i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-30 19:57:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6438154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reynabeth/pseuds/reynabeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rachel meets Calypso under a night full of stars, and they talk awhile.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Night Of Possibilities

**Author's Note:**

> Okay this is a crack ship. (The pairing was originally conceived by @shut_up_percy on Instagram.) But hey - crack ships are my speciality, right?  
> Anything you recognise belongs to Rick Riordan.

The stars were bright that night.

They sparkled in the vast dark sky like jewels scattered from a broken necklace. There was barely a cloud in the air, any wisps of fog burnt away by the cold light of the moon.

Rachel tipped her head back and stared at the sky. The air was cold and crisp on her face, a slight breeze tickling her skin. It was a night of possibilities, and she knew it.

Of course, there was the arrival of Leo Valdez to think about. The metal dragon had crashed earlier that day, sending up huge sprays of dirt and leaving deep ruts in the ground. Two figures had tumbled from the twisted heap of wires and metal. One, a girl, had risen from the floor; the other, presumably Leo, had lain still and quiet.

The girl's face was imprinted inside Rachel's eyelids. Everytime she closed her eyes, there she was: tumbling waves of cinnamon-coloured hair; eyes like melted caramel; smooth, tan skin, spattered with freckles; a figure to rival Aphrodite herself - not that Rachel would say that out loud.

Leo had been rushed to the infirmary. He was out cold, and hadn't woken up so far. Will Solace had confided in Rachel that there was a possibility of brain damage. 

Rachel felt sick. The idea of Leo surviving so much, only to die from a stupid dragon crash - okay, she'd never liked him much. But still, nobody deserved that fate.

Rachel sat down heavily, twining her fingers in the cold grass. She lit a cigarette and took a long drag; the smoke curled up until it was absorbed by the thick blanket of night.

It was nearly winter and frost choked the grass, meaning Rachel heard the footsteps coming from a long way away. The footfalls crunched up the hill, towards Rachel's spot.

Rachel didn't bother looking round. The person, whoever they were, dropped down to the ground beside her.

“Smoking’s a bad habit,” said a soft, lilting voice. Rachel turned and saw Calypso - the girl who’d crashed with Leo. 

“How would you know?” said Rachel dryly. “You've been stuck on an island your whole life.”

Calypso laughed, a proper laugh, her head thrown back in mirth. “Leo and I travelled a lot before we came here.”

“I'm sorry,” Rachel said. “About Leo, I mean.”

“Thank you,” said Calypso. “The thing is - I don't know if I really like him like that - romantically, I mean. He's nice, sometimes, and funny, sometimes, but kissing him felt…it just felt wrong.”

“I understand,” Rachel said sympathetically, inching closer to Calypso. “I used to like a guy. A lot. But then I kissed him, and - it wasn't right. It wasn't long after that that I realised I liked girls, rather than guys.”

“Ah.” Calypso tucked her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. “I don't seem to have a preference - for the people I fall in love with, I mean - as long as they're remotely nice to me, I'm head over heels.” She sounded bitter.

“Do you want a smoke?” Rachel offered a cigarette.

“You know, that would be great,” said Calypso decisively. She choked and coughed on her first gulp of smoke, but eventually it seemed to get easier.

“Are you scared?” asked Rachel. “Scared that Leo will never wake up?”

“Of course I'm scared,” Calypso said matter-of-factly. “But I haven't known him very long. He's not my number one priority, you know.”

Rachel reached out a hand, tentatively touching Calypso's shoulder. 

“Mostly,” Calypso continued, “I'm scared about what happens next. I don't know where I'm going from here. I don't think I'm immortal anymore - but it's not like anyone's come to tell me what I am now. I know only a tiny bit about the mortal world, barely enough to scratch the surface. What am supposed to do now? That's what I'm scared about.” 

Rachel rubbed Calypso's shoulder soothingly. “I used to think that too. At first, I had everything all planned out. Go to art school, do something great with my life. It didn't even matter that I could see things others couldn't. Then I became the Oracle -”

“You're the Oracle of Delphi?” Calypso sounded stunned.

“Yes. Yes, I am. And I didn't know what I was doing anymore. Now, though? Now, I think I've got it under control.”

“So, what are you trying to say, then?” Calypso scooted closer to Rachel.

“Just - wait it out, I guess,” said Rachel with a shrug. “It'll get better.”

“At least you don't have a brain-dead boyfriend,” muttered Calypso.

“He’ll be fine,” Rachel reassured her. In truth, she didn't know if Leo would be fine. She wasn't a doctor, just an artist. Just Rachel. But if it helped, Rachel was happy to lie.

“Thank you,” said Calypso sincerely. She pulled her hair over her shoulder, running her hands through it; with it, a smell of jasmine and exoticness drifted towards Rachel, mingling with cold wind and cigarette smoke.

Rachel plucked a stem of grass, twirling it between her fingers. She tore it in half, sending it fluttering to the earth. One daisy was growing alone, braving the frost and the darkness. Rachel picked it, holding her cigarette in place with her teeth, watching as the petals fluttered in the breeze.

Turning, she pushed Calypso's hair back over her ear, and pinned the flower in place. Calypso smiled, giddy and carefree. She looked even nicer when she smiled, Rachel thought. It made her look younger, erased from her face the weariness of immortality.

They were connected then, for just a single moment; something bound them together, something ancient, something intimate. Calypso broke the connection first, looking down at the ground, fiddling awkwardly with a strand of her hair.

The daisy fell, gracefully tumbling through the air, landing softly in the palm of Calypso's hand. She looked down at it for a second, before glancing up again; her face broke into another gleeful smile. 

“Can I buy you a drink, sometime?” Rachel asked.

“That would be nice,” Calypso agreed.

And they sat in silence, two girls on a hill underneath the stars, cigarette smoke drifting upwards and dissipating into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Leaving kudos or a comment makes me very happy - so thanks!


End file.
